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Monday, 3 October 2016

A Moment in Time ~ Giveaway

My birthday which was in August came and went in a blur of gifts,
cards and flowers. One such gift was from my dear friend Nicole an
author and illustrator with several beautiful children’s books to her name. Her
newest book Zullen we spelen, Bout? (Shall we play, Bolt?) was published at the
beginning of September. Nicole
kindly sent me a signed copy together with several other beautifully wrapped
gifts.

An illustration from Nicole's new book

I love receiving parcels, especially when they are as
exciting as this one - thank you so much Nicole.

Zullen we spelen, Bout? and other books by Nicole are available from Amazon here

Since my birthday, I’ve wanted to ‘share the love’ with a
giveaway something I last did in December 2014. Where did those two years go? I’m
at that time of life when time goes quickly but does it really speed up? According
to ‘proportional theory’, our sense of 'present' time begins to feel relatively
short in comparison to our lifespan, so a year may feel quicker in old age
compared to childhood. The emotional quality of an event also influences our
perception. Source. It just goes to prove time really does fly. With that in mind, I should probably get on with the giveaway
and what better way to start than with a signed copy of Time and the universe from beginning to end by David Forsythe.

David's fascinating tale of theories, some now confirmed using telescopes, satellites and space exploration puts into context and explains (in plain English) such factors as Gravity, Relativity, Entropy and the forces of Quantum Mechanics.Not your kind of thing? How about Roald Dahl's Guide to Railway Safety with illustrations by Quentin Blake.

This little book published in 1991 tells you all you
need to know about staying safe near railway lines. One of the most important
things to remember is if you drop something on the line, do not jump down and
get it. My daughter in law and I needed a sharp reminder of that last year when
I dropped my granddaughter's suitcase between the platform and a stationary
train. Karen and I were all for trying
to retrieve if (foolishly), but luckily we had the sense to wait for
assistance. Not easy when your little granddaughter is sobbing her heart out. Sorry Zoe, I hope I'm forgiven now.

Maybe you would prefer The Hole Story a reproduction of a book first published in America in 1904 with illustrations by Peter Newell.

The passage of more than a century has done nothing to lessen its appeal, and the hole remains in the pages just as it always has. "Tom Potts was fooling with a gun (such follies should not be), when - bang! the pesky thing went off most unexpectedly!

Or The Broons - Scotland's happy family that makes every family happy!

An annual size book of cartoons published by D. C. Thomson in 1987.

Last, but by no means least, Frog goes to dinner by Mercer Mayer.

When the boy goes to a fancy restaurant with his family, frog can't resist the temptation to stow away in his pocket. Once there how can he stay hidden when an orchestra and various classy diners offer such opportunities for grand adventures? Mercer Mayer's comic drawings tell the whole story without the need for words.I hope there is something for everyone in this random
selection. Please remember these are not new books. They
may have small marks, blemishes, etc., but they are all in good readable
condition.

The giveaway is open to worldwide readers of my blog. To enter please follow my blog and then share
this post on any of your social media streams (or send an email to your
friends and family if you don’t use social
media). Once you’ve done that please
leave a comment to let me know which book you would like. There is only one
copy of each book. Names will be put into a hat and winners drawn at random.
The giveaway closes on Wednesday 19th October 2016. Giveaway now closed, thank you for taking part.Follow my blog with Bloglovin

Please share this post if you can, those little numbers at
the side of my blog are very slowly creeping towards the one million mark. One
million page views – is that even possible? Do you think the number reverts
back to one after it reaches a million? If it does I will be wishing I could
turn back the clock!

I’m so grateful to everyone who takes the time to visit my blog, thank you.

56 comments:

Morning Barbara, what a lovely gift from Nicole and what a generous offer from you. I would very much like the book 'Time and the Universe' as there are thinks I need explaining. Like Relativity...thats about your Aunts and Uncles etc surely? I'm also, to be specific, a bit dense about Gravity and curios to know what sort of spanners Quantum Mechanics might use. I thought they just Torqued about things.............John

Morning John, a beautiful gift indeed – from a dear friend who I’ve yet to meet. We’ve communicated by email for many years and one of these days we will meet.I just knew you would like that book. You are absolutely right it’s all about Aunts and Uncles! There is Aunt Jean & Uncle Graham, Aunt Margaret & Ted and …. :-) Good luck, I hope you are lucky.

Young John is just so clever, but I agree with him about the book I need to know about Time and the Universe. Time is going to quickly and I might need to find somewhere else to go in the universe before too long. x

Decisions! Decisions! For me it was a toss up between...Roald Dahl and The Frog Goes To Dinner! After careful thought..I'll go for The Frog Goes To Dinner...After all, l've had a good few 'frogs' legs on my dinnerplate..be nice to see how they see it...for a change! :). AND...NO! Words! Brilliant! :0).

Morning Willie, I guarantee you won’t eat another frog (or its legs) if you are the lucky winner of that sweet little book! :-)Good luck with your grass, ours is really wet at the moment. We did go out and look at it but then came back inside and drank more tea. We will have a re-inspection in an hour or two – or we might not. It is a beautiful day though, and I do feel we should be outside, so maybe a walk in a while. Enjoy the day.

HeHe! Sorry! Could'nt resist....!!! The Sicilian Way...Clean legs under cold water and dry them.With a small knife, make an incision between and bone of lower part of one leg and insert through the other (criss-cross).Preheat oven to 400°F.Salt and pepper each leg and cover them with flour.In a saucepan add the butter and brown them 4 minutes each side.In a small pot add the garlic butter, parsley, and lemon juice; simmer a few minutes.Put the legs in an oven proof-baking dish; pour over the garlic sauce and bake for about 30 to 35 minutes.Serve on preheated plates. Bon Appetit.

Good morning dearest Barbara!!! And a happy belated birthday to you! I would love to enter your giveaway, and any of these books would please me! I hope you are well and I wish you many happy birthdays to come. HUGS!

Thanks so much Colleen. I know what you mean about not enough time. I’ve got more books than I will ever read in my lifetime but just having them around makes me happy. I called in at your blog the other day, but I think you must still be away. I will call back again in a few days. Barbara.

Happy belated birthday, dear Barbara! What a fun and beautiful parcel you received! If I qualify for the giveaway, (I live in Montreal, Canada), The Hole Story is something I would absolutely love! Thank you so much for all you share on your blog, your posts bring me such joy!

Hello Linda, yes of course, you qualify and should you win I will be more than happy to send to Montreal. Your name is the draw for The Hole Story – best of luck. Thank you so much for your lovely comment I feel just the same way about your blog.

I hope you are having a wonderful start to your new birthday year! You are right about how fast time goes by with every day speeding by faster and faster. :( In childhood I feel like I lived in each moment, never dwelling on the past or worrying about the future and now those moments seem so much longer than today's hectic schedules. How generous of you to host a giveaway! I love the looks of The Hole Story--very unique. The Broons look fun, too. Surprisingly, I already have a copy of Frog Goes to Dinner (and it looks just like yours!). Wow for 1 million page views, amazing times we live in!

Hello Marcia,Amazing indeed – I didn’t expect to get any page views when I started my blog so to be slowly moving nearer to one million of them is incredible!I remember summer holidays lasting for what felt like months and months when I was a child – now a week feels shorter than a day. I didn’t believe my dad when he used to say that (sorry dad).I will add your name to the draw for The Hole story as that is your first choice.Thanks for coming over and leaving a comment – good luck in the draw. Barbara

Hi Sue, Now that sounds like a very good idea to me! I will buy the cakes if you bring the balloons. ;-)Thanks for the birthday wishes. Time and the universe is definitely the one for you - as a time-travel author, you should be able to say who is going to win...

I didn’t know that Tracy, maybe I should cancel the giveaway. No, not really. I was so spoilt on my birthday it felt only right to try to spread a little happiness.

Thanks very much for the Bloglovin follow, I’ve followed you back. I keep thinking Google Friends is going to go or at least, that is what I keep reading. Plus it would be nice to have all my favourite blogs in one place (on Bloglovin) and it make it easier to keep track.

Hi Sandra I can’t find it on Amazon either but I did find something in our local press. This is an excerpt...

Retired GP Dr David Forsyth, sets out the complex story of time in a new and easy to read format. David Forsyth studied history, medicine and surgery at Oxford before serving as a Medical Officer in the RAF. He later became a GP in Worcester and then Oxford. Now retired he lives in Dorset, with Time: And the Universe from Beginning to End his first published book. It is available from Winstone's Books, Sherborne. Alternatively, send a cheque to Blackmore Vale Magazine.

I can only conclude it has never been available on Amazon and is now out of print. But of course I could be wrong.

I will include your name in the draw in the hope your husband (if you should win) will enjoy it.

How typical of you, Barbara, to give thanks for your lovely birthday gifts in this way. Books give us a sense of history and to me none more than your wonderful find The Hole Story. My children and grandchildren both loved The Enormous Caterpillar, pushing their fingers through the hole, but this predates that book by far! Thanks for another lovely post.

Thank you Marilyn, you are very kind. My son loved The Enormous Caterpillar too, but sadly we didn’t know about The hole story when he was a little boy. I will put your name in the draw and hope you will be lucky.

Hi Kristin, that one is proving really popular and there was me thinking it would not be in demand. I will add your name to the draw – good luck. I wonder why so many of your dreams are about space – perhaps there is a deeper meaning. I’ve never had a dream like that, I’m usually trying to run away from something or find my way out of a building – that kind of thing. Recently, I had a whole series of dreams about my childhood home so much so that I went back to see it – only to find it had been knocked down. The subconscious mind seems to have a way of knowing things before we do – maybe you will be an astronaut one day!

I'm a little too old for that. (Astronaut, that is). Okay, so I'm waay too old. Lol! My space dreams are so strange that sometimes I don't even realize what I'm actually seeing... because in real life I have no "reference point" for whatever it is I'm seeing/experiencing. I also dream about parallel universes and being "taught" things about the universe by people. (In one dream they were literally creating a universe - human beings far into our future - and I was really upset over it, but at the same time knew that I had to accept it because it was a fact. The space dreams can be quite uncomfortable at times. I won't ramble about the details, but in one of them I was even traveling at the speed of light. I have so many dreams like that that I finally decided to blog/write them all down). I sometimes dream about ghosts, but most of the time I dream about rescuing animals. That's about 90% of my dreams: Outer space and rescuing animals in distress. It makes for an exhausting sleep! Lol! (Sorry for rambling. I do that at a keyboard. I'll hush up now).

Hi Kristin, I used to follow your blog, but I don’t remember reading about your dreams. Do you still blog? I had a feeling you stopped at least for a while. Maybe you should write them all down and turn them into a book or books. They certainly sound fascinating enough and I’m sure you would have a best seller on your hands. I can honestly say I’ve never dreamt about space – or if I have I’ve forgotten. My dreams are far more mundane than yours.

Congratulations on the high number of visitors. Sounds like time is working in your favor. Roald Dahl's book must be very valuable and the one with a bullet hole sounds fascinating. Of course there's no way to pick only one if you like frogs that dine out and Northern European donkeys. Every visit to your blog is like a garden filled with flowers.

Thank you Eve, you are right about time – it has certainly taken a time to get that many page views. Not exactly an overnight success but it has been fun getting to know everyone and slowly building the blog.I don’t think the Roald Dahl book is valuable – yet, but I’m sure it will be one day.Thank you for your always interesting comments, I love hearing from you.

Dear Barbara thank you so much for dropping by and letting me know about the give away. I have been awa so did not get a chance to visit blogs lately. They really are a wonderful collection of books. Good luck to all who entered

Hi Barbara, I just followed on BlogLovin and man, am I glad I haven't missed this fantastic giveaway! Thank you so much. All the books look and sound fabulous, especially Frog Goes to Dinner, Roald Dahl's Guide to Railway Safety and Nicole's Shall We Play, Bolt?

I know you said to just pick one, but it's such a struggle.

Happy Belated Birthday, my dear. Celebrating Life with books, I can't think of a better way. Hope the pageview number hits a million very soon. I'm off to spread the word!

Thanks so much Claudine, I checked on BlogLovin and found I’m already following you there. Thanks also for spreading the word; I’m doing the same re your story in Cricket magazine (you so deserve that success – well done).Lots of people found it difficult to pick one but it doesn’t matter as I’ve decided the fairest thing to do is to enter all the names in the draw – pick out the winners and then do another draw for which book each winner receives. I’m sure that will work OK.Thanks for the birthday wishes, it’s hard to believe another year has gone past.

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About Me

This is where I share my collection of vintage
books, and other favourite things. I
also showcase new children’s books written by authors I admire. I am an
ex-bookseller, now full time blogger. My husband and I live in a small village
in Somerset, UK. Thanks for visiting. Barbara xx

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There are fairies at the bottom of our garden! It's not so very far away; you pass the gardener’s shed and you just keep straight ahead, I do so hope they've really come to stay. Rose Fyleman

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When little elves have cut themselves, or mouse has hurt her tail, or froggie's arm has come to harm, this herb will never fail. The fairy's skill can cure each ill and soothe the sorest pain; She'll bathe, and bind, and soon they'll find that they are well again. Flower Fairies of the wayside C. M. Barker.